INTERNATIONAL DESIGN CENTER NAGOYA HOSTS NEW DESIGNERS WORKSHOP 2008

24 November 2008

Nagoya (Japan) - From 1-6 December 2008, the New Designers Workshop 2008: Roots Finder - DESIGN DNA will be the first UNESCO's Creative Cities Network event in Nagoya since its designation as a City of Design.

Nagoya (Japan) - From 1-6 December 2008, the New Designers Workshop 2008: Roots Finder - DESIGN DNA will be the first UNESCO's Creative Cities Network event in Nagoya since its designation as a City of Design. Open to young designers and students from around the world, this workshop will study the role of design in the creative tourism industry.

Organised by Icograda Associate member, International design center NAGOYA Inc. (IdcN), this year's workshop will include participants from other UNESCO Creative Cities, such as Kobe, Japan; Santa Fe, USA and Aswan, Egypt; as well as from a candidate city: Shenzhen, China. Students and young designers from around the world will work to gain a greater understanding of cultural diversity and will approach indigenous design by working to visualise the charm of Nagoya. By integrating design and manufacturing skills, involving local industries, participants will learn to create brand value based on indigenous identities.

During the workshops, students and young designers from Japan and
abroad will explore,
reinterpret and redefine unique features found in Nagoya, and come up
with a solution to an innovative type of souvenir, a Nagoya brand, or a
portrayal of Nagoya’s culture.

Public presentatons of the results will
be held on 6 December from 2:00 - 6:00 pm at the IdcN 6F Design Center
Building. Registration for the public presentations closes 27 November 2008.

The Chief Director for New Designers Workshop 2008 is Icograda President Elect, Russell Kennedy. A Senior Lecturer in Visual Communication with the Department of Design, Faculty of Art & Design at Monash University, Australia, Russell brings to the New Designers Workshop his experience in establishing Indigo, the International Indigenous Design Network. Indigo is an Icograda-led initiative providing a forum for designers to explore and interpret the meaning of indigenous design around the world.

About UNESCO's Creative Cities NetworkThe Network was launched in 2004 to promote UNESCO's goal of cultural diversity. It is designed to promote social, economic and cultural development in urban areas in both developing and developed regions. Applicant cities share UNESCO's goal, and want to promote their local creative scenes. The Network's seven themes are literature, music, design, gastronomy, cinema, media arts and crafts and folk art. The current Network numbers 14 cities.www.unesco.org